Sanosuke's Wonderful Life
by Zanza8
Summary: A misunderstanding leads Sanosuke to wish he had never met any of his friends. Will he find out how important he really is to them when his wish is granted?


**A Misunderstanding**

Sanosuke felt so good that morning that instead of opening the creaky gate at the Kamiya Kasshin dojo, he vaulted over it. True, Missy had probably cooked breakfast and practice was not making perfect. He was of the opinion that her skills had actually deteriorated since Kenshin had begun trying to teach her how to cook, but it didn't really matter. Sano would rather eat Kaoru's cooking with his friends than the best meal in the world by himself.

He brightened even more at hearing Megumi's voice. He didn't see anyone-they must all be inside, but he'd know her voice anywhere and he grinned with sheer joy at the thought of starting the day by teasing the fox.

"I can't tell him not to come to the clinic," he heard Megumi say. "Even dumb thugs have the right to medical treatment."

Sanosuke stopped dead, a jar going through him like a blow before the pain is felt.

"I understand what you're saying, Megumi," said Kaoru impatiently, "but you could tell him to go to Dr. Gensai instead of pestering you."

Holding his breath, Sanosuke crept off to the back of the dojo and left by the back gate.

Meanwhile, Yahiko was snorting in disgust. "Why don't you just tell Sanosuke that Hiroki is bothering you?"

"I can't do that," said Megumi. "How do you think he'll react? Or rather, I should say, overreact?"

Kenshin frowned thoughtfully. "Hiroki is one of Sano's friends. I can't imagine he would be too hard on him."

"No, it's not that serious." Megumi sighed. "And I'd rather handle it myself, so don't say anything to Sanosuke."

"All right, Megumi." Kaoru got to her feet. "Everybody ready for breakfast?"

Yahiko groaned, then flinched as Kaoru looked at him. "Whatever you say, Kaoru."

As they headed for the food, Megumi noticed Kenshin standing by the door, looking out with a puzzled expression. "Something wrong, Sir Ken?"

"What? Oh, no, Miss Megumi. I just thought I heard Sano." The redheaded swordsman shook his head. "I wonder where he is. He doesn't usually miss breakfast."

The young woman smiled. "He could just be sleeping in. Don't worry, Sir Ken, I'm sure he'll show up for lunch."

But he didn't.

**A Chance Encounter**

Sanosuke trudged along, crested a hill, and looked gloomily down at the city of Kyoto. He wasn't sure why he had decided to come here-he definitely wasn't going anywhere near the Aoiya. Not that anybody would be looking for him but he would rather avoid anyone who knew his friends back in Tokyo.

His friends. Sano felt the sting of tears and angrily rubbed his eyes. His _former_ friends. So that's what they really thought of him-that he was just a dumb thug. He supposed he wasn't the most responsible person in the world, but he really thought they accepted him for who he was. Now he knew better.

"HELP!"

Sanosuke heard the cry and turned around sharply, trying to pinpoint the sound. It seemed to be coming from the forest and he ran towards it. An old man was sitting with his back against a tree, cradling his ankle.

"What's the matter?"

"Twisted my ankle."

Sano felt the injury. "Can you move it?" The man groaned, but wiggled his foot. "Try standing on it."

Clutching Sanosuke, the stranger pulled himself up and gingerly put his weight on his foot, then gasped. "I don't think I can walk on it."

"It's probably just a sprain." Sano looked around and saw a small clearing. "Come on. Let's get you over there and I'll see if I can make you a little more comfortable."

Later, after he had wrapped the old man's ankle with some of the endless bandages he wore around his torso and started a fire, Sanosuke stretched out, linking his hands behind his head and gazing up at the stars.

The stranger lay down on the other side of the fire. "I want to thank you, young man. Might I ask your name?"

"Sanosuke Sagara."

"My name is Mamoru. Just Mamoru-we don't bother with last names where I come from." The old man eased his ankle. "I am most fortunate that you were passing by-I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't found me. You really are a blessing."

"Not everybody thinks so," said Sano bitterly.

Mamoru looked surprised. "Surely you are a blessing to your friends."

"I don't have any friends."

"Really? Are you all alone in the world at your age? I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it." Sanosuke closed his eyes. "I thought I had friends-I thought they were the best friends anyone could have, but I found out what they really think of me so I left." The young man took a deep breath. "I wish I'd never met them." A cold wind blew through the clearing and he shivered and sat up. "I'm going to put some more wood on the fire-we can't do anything tonight, but I'll see you get to Kyoto.

**Off to the Aoiya **

In the morning Mamoru leaned heavily on Sanosuke as they made their way down the hills into the bustling city of Kyoto. "I know just where you can take me-there's an inn I like to stay at when I'm passing through. It's called the Aoiya. You go down that street…."

Sano cursed his luck. "I know where it is."

"Oh, then you've been there?"

"Yeah, and I'd rather not go back. Why don't you try another place?"

"No, the Aoiya." Mamoru peered up at Sanosuke. "Is something wrong?"

The young man gritted his teeth. It couldn't hurt just to drop this guy at the Aoiya-Misao would probably insist on knowing what brought him to Kyoto, but he could fob her off with just about any story. For a ninja she was very trusting. "Nothing's wrong, gramps. Just thought you might like a change of pace." Sano put a hearty smile on his face. "The Aoiya it is!"

**Lost Memories**

And of course as soon as they reached the inn, Mamoru leaning heavily on Sanosuke, Misao was the one who saw them and ran out to help. "Oh, my, what happened to your father?"

"What?" Sanosuke blinked in surprise. "He's not my father, Misao, he's just some old guy I found on the road."

She blinked back. "How do you know my name? I don't think we've met."

Mamoru groaned loudly. "Oh, my ankle! Young lady, could you fetch a doctor?"

"What? Oh, of course!" She sped inside and Sanosuke watched her go, shaking his head.

"Weasel Girl's got a strange sense of humor, pretending she doesn't know me."

"She's not pretending," said the old man placidly. "She doesn't know you because she's never met you."

"What do you mean, never met me?" Sano glared at his companion.

"Isn't that what you wished last night?" Mamoru looked up innocently. "That you never met any of your friends?"

A chill went through Sanosuke. "That was just talk-I didn't mean it. And even if I did, things like that can't happen."

The old man shrugged. "I guess it depends on who you say things like that to."

Sano started to pull away and Mamoru held onto him. "You wouldn't want to drop an old man in the middle of the street, would you?"

"Who are you?"

"I told you, Sanosuke, my name is Mamoru…."

"WHAT are you?"

"Let's just say I'm a fellow traveler. Now settle down-the girl is back and she's brought some help."

Sanosuke saw Misao come out and his heart jerked. Behind her was Kaoru.

**Broken Threads**

Mamoru settled back, smiling at Kaoru as she tended his ankle. "I asked for a doctor, but now I see no doctor could be better than you, young lady."

Kaoru smiled back. "Well, I did use to get a lot of practice tending cuts and sprains and bruises. We can still get a doctor if you want one, but I think if you rest, in a couple of days your ankle will be just fine. Will you be staying too?" She turned to Sanosuke and his heart dropped again at the look in her eyes. She had shown no recognition of him, not when she came out of the inn with Misao, not when she asked him what happened to his companion, not when he helped the man inside and she was telling him what she needed done. As far as she was concerned he was a blank slate.

"Of course he'll be staying!" Mamoru laughed. "And we're both hungry-could we get some miso soup and rice?"

Kaoru and Misao smiled and left to get the food, and Sanosuke got to his feet and started pacing. "I don't understand what's going on here. Kaoru doesn't remember me either."

"I told you." The old man leaned back on his hands. "None of your friends has ever met you. None of them is going to remember you."

Sano dropped to the floor. He supposed he should be grateful-it _was_ just what he had wished for and if it was really true that they didn't know him, it could be a blessing in disguise. Now he would never have to worry about any of them again, or think about how they really felt about him….The young man frowned. "What's Kaoru doing here at the Aoiya anyway? Where's Kenshin and Yahiko?"

"After Kenshin died…."

Sanosuke's heart stopped, then started beating again so fast he felt dizzy. "What?" he whispered.

Mamoru nodded sadly. "Kenshin and Aoshi both died on Mount Hiei. You weren't there to carry Kenshin to safety, and Aoshi tried but his wounds were too severe to manage getting both Kenshin and himself out. He wouldn't leave Kenshin, so they were both lost." He sighed. "Kaoru didn't want to stay at the dojo after that-she sold it and moved here to live at the Aoiya. All things considered, I suppose she's as happy as she can be."

The young man shook his head. "All things considered? What do you mean?" His blood was running cold. "What about Yahiko?"

"When the Akobeko burned down…." Mamoru saw Sanosuke's eyes dilate and he reached for his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sanosuke. You remember the drunks who were arguing the day you met Kenshin and Kaoru and Yahiko? You never met Tae, so you weren't there to throw those troublemakers out and they kept coming back, getting more quarrelsome every time. One day they managed to start a fight that spread to the kitchen and the restaurant caught on fire."

Sanosuke managed to ask, "Was Yahiko…."

"No!" The old man shook Sano's shoulder reassuringly. "Everybody got out safely but the little girl, Tsubame. I'm afraid she was killed-the smoke….I am sorry. And then Yahiko left the dojo-left Tokyo, in fact. He's just wandering around…." Mamoru hastened to add, "Oh, but he's not supporting himself with crime. He does odd jobs in return for food and shelter and he still practices his swordsmanship-he's doing fine."

"How can you say that?" There were tears in Sanosuke's eyes. "He had a home and a family and now he's on the street….and what happened to Tae?"

"Oh, she's here too, in Kyoto. Remember her twin sister, Sae? They're both running her sister's restaurant, the Shirobeko. She really didn't have the heart to rebuild after everything that happened, but she's doing as well as can be expected."

"I suppose Katsu is doing as well as can be expected too."

Mamoru frowned. "Well, yes and no. He was arrested trying to blow up a government building-he's in prison. But he didn't succeed in doing any real damage-Kenshin stopped him before it went that far, so he'll be out in a year or two and he's already writing down ideas for his anti-government paper."

Sano felt sick. How could things have turned out so badly for everyone? "I don't understand," he murmured.

"What don't you understand?" asked the old man compassionately. "How one man's life can entwine with so many other lives? How one moment in time can have such an effect on so many other moments?"

"Mamoru?"

"Yes, Sanosuke?"

"Where's Megumi?" The old man hesitated and Sano grabbed him and shook him. "Don't tell me with everything else you know that you don't know about Megumi! Where is she?"

Mamoru took the young man's right hand and gently pried the fingers open and Sanosuke stared down at his unmarked palm in anguish.

"I wasn't there to stop her." Sano's voice was unsteady. "I wasn't there….Mamoru! Take it back!" He threw himself on the floor, kowtowing to the old man. "Please, I'm begging you-take it back! I want things to be like they were before! Please!"

**Back Home**

"Sanosuke, come on! Snap out of it!"

"Please….please…." Sano murmured the word over and over, coming to the realization that he was flat on his back and someone was bending over him. He opened his eyes and saw Megumi and he sat up so abruptly she had to jump back to avoid getting hit by him. "Megumi!" He looked around. Kenshin and Kaoru and Yahiko were leaning over Megumi's shoulder and his eyes filled with tears. "You're all here!"

Megumi frowned and felt his forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

He caught her hand. "Never better. Everybody's here!"

"Where else would we be?" Kaoru's voice was sharp with annoyance. "Honestly, Sanosuke, what were you thinking, trying to jump over the gate? You're supposed to open it."

Yahiko snickered. "Yeah, but it was funny to see you catch your foot and land on your face and knock yourself out."

Sanosuke shook his head. "So it was all a dream? The dojo is still here and nobody got caught in a fire and…." Megumi was feeling his pulse now and he smiled. "I'm fine, fox lady." He got to his feet.

"There's that dumb thug again." Yahiko was glaring over the fence and Sanosuke spun around. His friend Hiroki was walking by, waving at them.

"Is that who you meant?" The young man felt a vast wave of relief. "I thought you were talking about….well, something else!" He laughed and Megumi took his arm.

"I think you'd better sit down."

"I told you I'm fine." Sanosuke shoved his hands in his pockets, then brought out his right hand. The scar was back, but it was the gold coin that he stared at in wonder.

"Sanosuke!" Kaoru took the coin. "Where did you get this?"

He smiled. _Maybe it wasn't a dream._ "It's a gift from a friend."

Kenshin was looking at him oddly. "That must be a very good friend."

Sano threw his arm around Kenshin. "All my friends are good friends! Come on, everybody-let's go to the Akobeko. My treat!"


End file.
